


Smile at the stars

by Johnale



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Gen, Memory Loss
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-11
Updated: 2020-01-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:49:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22208941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Johnale/pseuds/Johnale
Summary: Rose’s life has been amazing since she met the Doctor. But what if it all abruptly ended and she couldn't remember the Doctor? The world where Rose’s memory gets wiped out and she has to learn again who's the mysterious madman in a box.
Relationships: Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler | Bad Wolf, The Doctor (Doctor Who)/Rose Tyler
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	Smile at the stars

**Author's Note:**

> Hurray! Thank you ”ancient aliens” for inspiring me to do this.

Rose Tyler was coming back from work. It was a cold April afternoon and she was thinking about going to Mickey and his band’s concert in a pub that night. She’d have to assure her mum that everything was going to be alright before she could leave, though- ever since Henrik’s had burned down, she’d been warier about her daughter than ever.

Today, Rose took a different route than usual and opted for a little stroll. Mickey had offered to pick her up, but right then, she just wanted to take a walk. She was nearly home, passing the street that separated her from the Powell Estate. She took a quick look at the houses she was walking next to. Something seemed off. This usually cheerful place, flooded with flocks of children and their grandmas, currently stood utterly quiet. It seemed a little dodgy, but Rose just shrugged it off, figuring that everyone must’ve been busy.  
But that little suspicion she still held in her mind prompted her to run towards a small lateral street as soon as she heard a sound coming from her vicinity. Being alone on this street felt like seeing London’s Square totally deserted during rush hour- that was why the slightest sound made her practically jump out of her shoes.

She peeked round the corner to see a group of people that had been transporting something. They were loading some materials she couldn’t see into a lorry. One of them turned around so Rose could see his face. Oh!  
She stood petrified. His face was hideous! And not in a human sense, she wasn’t one of the people that could judge someone by their appearance, but… Deep in her bones she could sense that the creature wasn’t human. She hid herself from them, begging that no one saw her.  
She felt an immediate urge to run away and just disappear from that place. Cautiously, she swerved next to the entrance of the street where they were and started running. She ran and ran till she arrived at her doorstep. She tried to calm herself and stop panting so Jackie wouldn't notice how worried Rose was. 

Yeah, maybe those were some costumes and she just saw actors from that new BBC sci-fi series... She tried to reason with herself. But sometimes, you just know that the weird (possibly) alien creatures you saw in the backyard weren't actors and you were lucky you didn't have to face them. It was London. But Rose knew that nothing would stop her from thinking about those... people? It felt wrong to name them ''creatures''.

Why did she run?  
For once, something extraordinary had happened in her boring life- and she had to immediately take off. But everything was better than standing there still, helplessly. She sighed and made herself a tea, hoping it would calm her down. 

''Rose, are you here? Could ya bring me a tea as well?'' 

''Yes, mum,'' she muttered while adding sugar to her cup.  
Her hands stopped shaking and she was able to eventually focus on something more mundane than dashing away from those strangers. 

Her mum gratefully took her cup and started on with her typical rambling. Rose didn’t really focus on what she’d been saying, but that wasn’t new. 

”...I tell you, this new job of yours is the best option you had! You could always work at the butchers’ round the corner.’’ 

Rose winced. She remembered how her mum had tried to find her a job after she lost the one at Henrik’s. Sometimes she tried to recall how it all had happened: the chaos when she’d found out about the fire and the mess after when she’d struggled to find new work.  
It was all blurry. As if her brain tried to forget that part of her life and when she thought about it. It felt like she was trying to catch something that was slipping out her hands every time she touched it.

”I know, mum. The coffee shop isn’t that bad, and I earn better than I ever could here. But please, tell me, why didn’t I land any job after Henrik’s? I’m really surprised you didn’t make me work at butchers’, just to push me out of the door.’’ Rose laughed with her mood being slightly better than when she came back home.

To her surprise, Jackie didn’t respond immediately. She had supposed her mum would give her typical retort and start bickering.

”Oh… You know, there was trouble with your compensation, and then you went to a couple of job interviews and you just… didn’t have luck, sweetheart.’’ 

Her mum didn’t look at her, and Rose felt slightly embarrassed after asking the question. She hadn’t predicted it would make her mum go quiet. Maybe that was it. Time to move on. Do her A-levels, change jobs, go to Mickey’s concerts…  
Rose shuddered. It was her life; but when she thought about her future, it seemed extremely mundane. Was it always like that? I guess so, she thought. 

She went to her bedroom and phoned Mickey so she could explain to him that she wouldn’t be coming to his concert that night. She didn’t feel like going anywhere.  
She laid on her bed and thought about all the things she could’ve done that year after sprinting away from Henrik’s. But instead, she’d stayed there; same good, old life.  
She clutched the duvet closer to her and tried to recall those creatures she’d seen that day,  
but she hadn’t realised before how exhausted she was. She immediately fell asleep when she closed her eyes. 

Rose dreamt of the strangers she’d encountered. She was running away again- but this time, someone was with her, holding her hand. She felt as frightened as she felt earlier but at the same time, she was sure it was all going to be fine. She’d be safe. Rose didn’t look up who she was fleeing with, she just grasped tighter the hand that was leading her farther away from the possible danger. 

She woke up with a feeling of a loss of someone.

Next day Rose had to go to work. She was still pretty weary and tried to wipe out the smudges of a mascara that spilled under her eyes. As her mum would say: Rose had her head in the clouds.  
A woman came into the coffee shop, scanning the room as if she was looking for a particular person inside.  
The client went to the counter and beamed when she spotted Rose. The girl felt confused, but she casually picked up a new order without hearing any remarks about herself from the stranger. 

The coffee shop was practically empty at this hour, not many people came in. They’d start getting there in droves when the Starbucks right round the corner would inevitably get overcrowded. 

While Rose was preparing latte, the woman looked at her and asked hesitantly. 

”You know him, right?’’

”Excuse me?’’

”Oh, sorry, the Doctor! You must know where he is, you’ve travelled with him. Please help me!’’

Rose shook her head.

”Doctor who?’’


End file.
